A Tennessee quit claim deed has to be signed by the grantor, acknowledged before a notary public, and recorded with the register of deeds in the county where the property sits. The base recording fee is $12, and the state charges a transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 of value unless the transaction fits an exemption. Miss any of those Tennessee quit claim deed requirements and the register’s office can reject the deed at the counter or a court can pick it apart later.
What a Quit Claim Deed Transfers
A quit claim deed passes along whatever ownership interest the grantor happens to have on the day of signing. Nothing more. The grantor makes no promise that the title is clear, that no one else has a claim, or even that the grantor owns the property at all. Full ownership in, full ownership out. Nothing in, nothing out.
Because there are no warranties behind it, this deed fits situations where both sides already know the property’s history: transfers between family members, adding or removing a spouse after marriage or divorce, moving property into a living trust, or clearing up a title defect where a past interest was never released. It is a poor tool for buying from a stranger, where a general warranty deed offers real protection.
Who Has to Sign
The grantor must be at least 18 and mentally competent. When the owner is an LLC, corporation, or other entity, an authorized representative signs and should attach documentation showing that authority. If two or more people are on the title, every co-owner has to sign unless only one owner is transferring their individual share.
The grantee has no eligibility requirements but must be clearly identified. Use the full legal name for an individual, and for a trust or business entity spell out the complete legal name and entity type so the register does not bounce the deed.
If the property is the couple’s home, the grantor’s spouse may need to sign even when the spouse is not on the title. Tennessee protects homestead interests, and a non-owner spouse’s signature can be necessary to release those rights. Skip it and the grantee runs into trouble at the next sale or refinance. In a divorce, the quit claim deed usually accompanies a court order dividing marital property, and that order supplies additional authority for the transfer.
For estate property, the person signing needs legal authority to act. In Tennessee that means letters testamentary (for an executor named in a will) or letters of administration (for an intestate estate) issued by the probate court in the county where the deceased lived.1TN Courts. Probate Guide – A Guide for Clerks Serving Courts With Probate Jurisdiction Nothing moves until those letters are in hand.
Only the grantor signs the deed itself; the grantee is receiving an interest, not giving one up. An entity representative should include their title next to the signature, for example “Managing Member of XYZ LLC.”
Notarization
Tennessee requires deeds to be acknowledged before a notary public in order to be recorded.2Justia Law. Tennessee Code 66-24-101 – Writings Eligible for Registration The notary verifies the grantor’s identity and confirms the signature is voluntary. The acknowledgment must show the grantor’s name, the date, the notary’s commission expiration date, and the notary’s official seal. Anything missing and the register’s office will reject the document.
Tennessee does not fix a maximum notary fee. Notaries are entitled to “reasonable fees,” which usually runs $5 to $25 per signature for a standard in-person acknowledgment. Mobile notaries who come to you charge more.
Witnesses are not required. Having a disinterested witness present can still help if the deed’s validity is later challenged, which is worth thinking about when the grantor is elderly or in declining health. Disinterested means no financial stake in the transfer.
Legal Description of the Property
Every quit claim deed has to include a legal description of the property, not just a street address. Addresses change; legal descriptions do not. A vague or incorrect description can void the deed.
Tennessee deeds usually use one of two formats. Metes and bounds descriptions define boundaries using compass directions, distances, and reference points, and show up most often for rural or oddly shaped parcels. Tennessee regulations require enough detail to locate the property on the ground. Lot and block descriptions reference a recorded subdivision plat and must include the subdivision name, lot number, plat book and page number, and the register’s office where the plat is recorded.3LII / Legal Information Institute. Tennessee Comp. R. and Regs. 0820-03-.09 – Land Descriptions
The safest move is to copy the legal description straight from the most recently recorded deed for the property. If anything looks off, hire a licensed surveyor to verify boundaries before signing.
Filing With the Register of Deeds
Once the deed is signed and notarized, it goes to the register of deeds in the county where the property sits. Until it is recorded, the deed binds the grantor and grantee but does not protect the grantee against third parties who have no notice of the transfer.4Justia Law. Tennessee Code 66-26-101 – Effect of Instruments With or Without Registration Recording puts the entire world on constructive notice.5Justia Law. Tennessee Code 66-26-102 – Notice to All the World If the grantor turns around and deeds the same property to someone else who records first without knowing about your deed, that second grantee can take priority. Record promptly.
Formatting matters. The register will reject a deed that fails to meet the requirements. The document must be on paper no larger than 8½ by 14 inches, list the names and addresses of the grantor and grantee, identify who prepared the document, and leave enough space on the first page for the recording stamp. Counties may layer on their own specifics, such as requiring the map and parcel number and a derivation clause showing how the grantor acquired the property.6Nashville Register of Deeds. Filing Requirements Call your county register before submitting so you don’t make a second trip.
Recording Fees and Transfer Tax
Tennessee law sets a base recording fee of $10 for a document up to two pages, plus $5 for each additional page beyond two, and registers charge $2 per instrument recorded.7Justia Law. Tennessee Code 8-21-1001 – Registers A standard two-page quit claim deed comes to $12 at baseline. Some counties add small processing charges, so bring extra or call ahead.
The state also imposes a realty transfer tax of $0.37 per $100 of the property’s value or the consideration paid, whichever is greater.8Justia Law. Tennessee Code 67-4-409 – Recordation Tax On a $200,000 property, that runs $740, due when the deed is recorded.
Several common quit claim scenarios are exempt from the transfer tax:9TN.gov. Realty Transfer Recordation Tax
- Conveyances between spouses creating or dissolving a tenancy by the entirety, including one spouse deeding to the other.
- Deeds adjusting property rights between divorcing parties under a domestic decree or settlement agreement.
- Transfers from an individual into their own revocable living trust, or from the trust back to that person or their spouse.
- Deeds from an executor carrying out a will’s instructions, or from a trustee distributing trust property to beneficiaries.
The deed should state the basis for any exemption on its face. If the Tennessee Department of Revenue decides a transfer was undervalued to shrink the tax, it can reassess the amount owed and add penalties.
Consequences Worth Knowing Before Signing
Meeting the recording requirements is only half the picture. A quit claim deed that goes on record cleanly can still trigger problems the grantor and grantee did not see coming.
Mortgages and Due-on-Sale Clauses
If a mortgage is on the property, the deed does not remove the grantor from that debt. The grantor remains personally liable unless the lender agrees to a release. Most mortgages also carry a due-on-sale clause letting the lender demand full repayment when the property changes hands. Federal law blocks acceleration for certain family-related transfers of residential property with fewer than five units: to a spouse or children, under a divorce decree, to a relative after the borrower’s death, or into a revocable trust where the borrower stays a beneficiary.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions Outside those categories, the lender can call the loan.
Title Insurance
An owner’s title policy may stop covering the property after a quit claim transfer. Many policies tie continuing coverage to the insured’s ongoing liability through deed warranties, and a quit claim deed carries none, so the continuation provision has nothing to hold on to. A grantee who wants title insurance should order a fresh search and a new policy.
Federal Gift Tax and Cost Basis
Transferring property for less than fair market value can be treated by the IRS as a gift. The 2026 annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient.11Internal Revenue Service. What’s New — Estate and Gift Tax If the value of the interest exceeds that, the grantor files IRS Form 709 even when no tax is actually owed.12Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709 – United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return There’s also a basis catch: property received as a gift comes with the donor’s original cost basis, not a fresh basis at current market value.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust Inherited property, by contrast, gets a stepped-up basis at the date of death. That difference can turn a well-intentioned gift into a large capital gains bill for the grantee down the road.
Medicaid Look-Back
Deeding property away for less than fair market value can wreck a later Medicaid application for long-term care. Medicaid reviews asset transfers made in the 60 months before applying.14Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Transfer of Assets in the Medicaid Program – Important Facts for State Policymakers Undervalued transfers inside that window trigger a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay for nursing home care. The penalty does not start on the transfer date; it begins on the later of the transfer or the date the person enters a facility and would otherwise qualify. Anyone using a quit claim deed to shift assets ahead of possible nursing home costs should talk with an elder law attorney first.
Property Tax Exemptions
Exemptions tied to the grantor do not carry over automatically. A homestead exemption, senior tax freeze, or similar benefit ends with the transfer, and the new owner has to apply through the county assessor for anything they qualify for. Tennessee does not reassess property value just because ownership changed, but a consideration amount on the deed that looks far off from the current assessment may draw the assessor’s attention.